Warts and All
by jellyjay
Summary: It's a strange case, all right. Nineteen disappearances and one unfortunate little frog. Thanks to LadyNorbert for being an awesome beta.
1. Chapter 1

It's far colder in Cameron than one would think. It's a little bit of a dying town now, and no one can really blame it: the little city sits in the middle of the Eastern Area of Amestris, isolated by miles and miles of dirt road and wheat fields. There's a grand total of zero trains that come in and out, so really the only way in is to make the wayward two and a half day journey from East City along quiet, winding paths that stretch into the middle of nowhere.

Nothing happens out here.

At least, not often.

Under the cover of the twilight, a scrawny teenager dodges under the light of the dimly lit street lamps to the run down barn on the edge of town. He keeps his coat tugged shut and his head bent low, and when he arrives at his destination, he knocks twice on the barn door and slips inside.

"I have your notes, Master," he calls into the darkness, fishing a wad of yellowing paper from his pocket.

"Nicely done, Roland," the Master says, emerging from the darkness, thoughtful smirk on his lips. He hands the boy a little box of matches and instructs him to light the two lanterns on the barn floor. "I'm almost finished," he says proudly. "My work is almost complete – there's just something missing..."

Something shuffles in the darkness, but the Master pays it no heed. Taking a lantern from Roland, he starts to pace. "Record this one as trial nineteen," he says at last. "Then you may go home and revise your notes on the human physiology. If I am successful tonight, we will begin the preparations for your project."

Roland nods uncertainly as a muffled groan in the back catches his attention. He frowns. "Master, what is it that you're doing? What's going on back there?"

The Master grins. "That's for me to know, my young pupil. Run along now. Only a few more days until you see your father again."

It's as if the thought instils a new hope in Roland, and he nods again, this time resolutely and unquestioning. "All right. See you in the morning, Master."

"Sleep well, Roland," the Master says with an odd grin, turning to face the darkness in the barn.

_Just a few more days,_ Roland thinks as he steps back out into the cold, and something in the crackles in the barn while flashes of blue light the evening as the boy makes his way home.

x

"Nineteen people?" Roy frowns at Grumman and folds his arms across his chest. "I don't understand why we weren't told about this situation earlier."

Grumman sighs and sits back in his chair. "Neither do I, Colonel – but as we're hearing about it so late, I want this case wrapped up as fast as possible. Your team is one of the best we have – if anyone can take care of this quickly, it'll be you."

"Do we have any leads?"

The General pats a small stack of files and hands him the topmost. "So far, we only have rumours. Our culprit is apparently brilliant at hiding his tracks. However, the local MPs have informed us that the townspeople have seen flashes of light from an old barn on the outskirts of town that coincide with the disappearances."

"An alchemist, then?" asks Roy, flipping open the file and examining the photographs stapled to the inside cover.

Grumman nods. "That's what they think," he answers. "But if we are dealing with missing persons, and an alchemist is the prime suspect – "

"Then we might have someone experimenting with human transmutation," Roy finishes.

Grumman nods a second time. "You understand the severity of this case," he says seriously. "We have a dangerous suspect on our hands. I don't want to hear of anyone else going missing, least of all someone from your team. A mission like this requires precision – can you handle it?"

Roy snaps into a crisp salute at once. "Of course, sir. We'll be ready to leave tomorrow afternoon at the very latest."

"Excellent." Grumman leans his elbows against his desk, fingers steepled seriously but with a look of approval on his features. "You're dismissed. Report to me when you get there and daily until you come back."

Roy nods. "Yes sir."

x

It's a serious case, all right. Roy reads over the files during the day while Hawkeye organizes transport for the six of them to the isolated little town of Cameron. Eighteen missing civilians, one missing MP – no bodies, no clues – a grand total of nothing to go on. All they have is a series of rumours about an alchemist transmuting things in an old barn.

It's a two and a half day trip, so they have more than enough time to mull it over between themselves. They try for theories or conclusions drawn from what little they have to go on, but by the time they get there, they still have nothing.

They decide though, on their last stop over before arriving in town, that their best bet will be to go about this undercover. It seems hardly wise for a team of military soldiers to appear in a place with a small town mentality. Cameron is already running amuck with rumours – the last thing they need is to alert their culprit of their presence.

Roy and Hawkeye, as usual, will play their usual roles as a recently married couple travelling around the Eastern Area. They will drive into Cameron together and check into a hotel there.

For the boys, it is a little more difficult. They will drive into town a day later and rendezvous with their superiors then. Havoc will pretend to be Hawkeye's older brother who hasn't had seen her since her wedding. They will fake a delightful reunion and Havoc and the boys will decide they will spend a little longer in town in order to spend more time with the 'couple'.

In the meantime, Roy, Hawkeye and Havoc will explore the little town while the Breda and Falman try to gather more intelligence on the situation by speaking to the civilians. Fuery will be in charge of communication with Grumman. No one is to go anywhere alone unless absolutely necessary and though undercover, no one is to go anywhere unarmed.

It's a fairly straightforward plan: stick to the story and don't be discovered – find the suspect and wrap up the case.

It's simple enough for things to go exactly as planned.

Only they don't.

x

"This is an odd place for a married couple to be staying," comments the hotel receptionist, frowning a little as they check in.

"We're just doing a little travelling," says Hawkeye cheerfully. "My parents are from here – they've long since sold their house and all, but we thought it might be nice to drop in."

The receptionist studies them carefully. "What did you say your names were?"

"Thompson," answers Roy smoothly. "Stith and Kelsie Thompson."

The receptionist purses her lips and hands them their keys uneasily. "I wouldn't stay long," she tells them quietly. "It's not the same as it used to be."

Hawkeye cocks her head curiously. "How do you mean?"

"Listen," says the receptionist. She glances around as if she's checking to make sure they're alone before she leans in and continues. "People have been going missing. I don't know who they're trying to fool by keeping it hushed up, but it's not safe here anymore."

Roy frowns. "Not safe?"

The receptionist nods. "The people who know the most about it are the ones that go missing." She leans away hurriedly and picks their keys off a little hook on the wall. "No one likes talking about it because they're afraid they'll be next," she whispers.

"Hm." Roy accepts their keys thoughtfully. "We'll be careful. Thank you."

The receptionist swallows and says nothing else.

x

"Interesting little town, this place," Roy comments, dropping the facade almost immediately when they enter the room.

"Interesting town indeed," agrees Hawkeye, peering into the street through the window. "We've spoken to all of one person and it's obvious that the entire place is terrified."

Roy shrugs and flops onto the arm chair in the corner. "With nineteen people having gone missing, it's not all that surprising. It's almost a shame she didn't tell us more."

"She did tell us one thing though," Hawkeye says. "'The people that know the most are the ones that go missing'."

"The suspect keeping things quiet, perhaps?" Roy hums thoughtfully. "We'll have to tell the boys to be extra careful when they're talking to the townspeople."

Hawkeye scoffs and takes a seat on the window sill. "If they find anyone willing to talk, that is."


	2. Chapter 2

The boys arrive a day later, as planned, and after a sweet, faked reunion between pretend brother and sister, they decide to have lunch in the quaint little hotel restaurant. When they are settled in the most isolated corner of the room, away from any curious eavesdroppers (not there are any), Havoc lowers his voice.

"The receptionist seemed a bit hush-y, don't you think?"

Roy nods. "She was like that with us, too. It's fairly clear to me that everyone in this town is terrified that they'll be next. She told us yesterday that the ones who know the most are the ones who go missing, so you'll need to be particularly careful when you're looking for information."

"You got it, Chief," says Breda quietly. "Although judging by the way she was acting, it doesn't look like we'll get any more information by asking directly."

"No," agreed Hawkeye. "You're definitely right about that – and I'm fairly sure none of the locals will be eager to talk about it."

"We'll find out what we can," Fuery says. "In the mean time, I'll contact General Grumman and tell him we've arrived. I can hold down the fort too, while everyone does their thing."

"All right." Roy nods at them. "Stick to the plan – Falman and Breda, keep an ear out for other rumours. Check in with Fuery every hour or so. Havoc, Hawkeye and I will have a look around. Stick to the plan, all right?"

The others nod.

"Right. Move out."

x

"A rundown barn on the outskirts of town, right?" Havoc cocks his head curiously at the battered building and puffs on his cigarette . There are holes in the windows and the paint is chipped; bits of wood are hanging at odd angles and the entire thing looks far from structurally sound. He clucks his tongue. "If this isn't it, I don't know what is."

"There's no one here," comments Hawkeye, examining the area carefully.

Roy nods, but he tugs his gloves out of his pocket and steps forward. "I'm not taking any chances. Secure the area. Hawkeye, take this door – Havoc, take the side. I'll go around the back."

"Yes sir."

Hawkeye draws her handgun and kicks the front door open first. She scans the area with sharp eyes and a raised gun, but the barn is empty. "Clear!" she calls, and Roy and Havoc do the same a moment later.

"Clear!"

"Clear." Roy frowns. "There's nothing here."

Hawkeye nods, lowering her gun just a little. "Strange," she murmurs. "Colonel, I think we should head back. This feels too e – "

She pauses abruptly and slumps to the ground.

x

"Hawkeye!" Roy calls out to her. His heart almost stops in his chest as she falls, blood staining her bright golden hair and pooling on the hay-strewn floor. He starts forward at once, but comes to a stop when a scrawny looking teenager with an iron pipe appears in the doorway where she had just been standing.

"Shit!" he hisses. "Ah, crap, I didn't – she's bleeding – " He glances at Roy and Havoc and puts his hands up immediately when he realises he's just knocked out a military officer in civilians and has come face to face with two others.

"I'm sorry!" he gasps. "I didn't mean to! I was surprised and – "

"Who are you?" demands Roy, raising his gloved fingers and poises them to snap.

The boy opens his mouth, but he is interrupted before he can speak.

"Roland? What's going on?"

Roy narrows his eyes as a tall, thin man appears behind the boy and rests a hand on his shoulder. On the other side of the barn, Havoc is raising his gun again. "Hands where we can see them!" he orders.

The taller man watches them curiously, head tilted to the side. He doesn't raise his hands. Instead he studies them carefully and then leans over to examine Hawkeye. "This is the Eye of the Hawk, isn't it?" he says. "And you are the Flame Alchemist." He laughs. "Well done, Roland! Wonderful work!"

Roland looks terrified. "Master?" he asks uneasily, but the Master isn't listening.

He turns to Roy and Havoc. "You two can go. We only need one of you and this one will do quite nicely."

Roy grinds his teeth. "Stay the hell away from her!" he snaps, voice full of venom.

The tall man smirks. "Oh, is she important?" he asks curiously. "Tell me, Flame Alchemist, you are here to investigate the disappearances, isn't that right?"

"What do you know?" barks Roy.

"You'd love to find out, wouldn't you?" The Master laughs and claps his hands delightedly. "You'll have to catch me!" And he bounds off without another word.

x

"Havoc!" orders Roy. "Call for back up and take the kid into custody. See if you can get Hawkeye to come to!"

"Chief, wait!"

But Roy is already haring after the Master.

Havoc breathes a frustrated sigh and hurries over to Hawkeye, who is still unconscious and still bleeding. The kid backs away immediately, and for a moment, Havoc thinks he's going to run. He doesn't though, and the first thing that comes out of his mouth as Havoc approaches is a squeaky "I'm sorry!"

"Relax," says the blond man, holding up his hands. "We're going to need to ask you some questions later, but for now I'm just going to go over there and check on my friend, all right?"

The kid nods mutely. "Is she gonna be okay?"

Havoc hurries over and turns Hawkeye over carefully. "Hawkeye," he hisses. "Come on, Lieutenant, wakey, wakey!"

She groans a little and slaps his hands away.

"She'll be all right," he says at last, breathing a sigh of relief. "A little pissed off, maybe, and she'll have a killer headache, definitely, but she'll be fine."

"I'm sorry!" the kid squeaks again. "I didn't mean to hurt her so bad – Master just told me to – "

Havoc holds up a hand. "Master, you say?"

The kid nods. "He teaches me alchemy. He's been doing some experiments lately and he told me once he perfects his project, he'll help me bring my dad back."

Havoc frowns. "What kind of experiments?"

"I don't know," the kid says honestly. "He doesn't tell me. He gets me to take notes down for him, but he always tells me to go home before he does anything." He swallows and glances at the blood seeping through Hawkeye's hair. "Am I gonna go to jail?"

Havoc can't help but feel for the kid. "Listen. We have reason to believe that your master is doing some really terrible things, so if you can help us out the best you can, and we can stop him from doing anything else, the chances are you won't have to."

The kid bites his lip. "But... what about my dad?"

Havoc sighs. "I don't think things work that way, buddy, but I have friends who know for sure. And whatever your master's project is, it's hurting people like my friend here. For now it's best to help us with this case, all right?"

The kid looks reluctant, but he glances at Hawkeye's hair and it looks as if the fact that people might be getting hurt hits him hard. "All right," he mumbles, turning his eyes to the ground. "I guess that means I won't be seeing my dad, huh?"

"No," says Havoc solemnly. "I'm sorry."

x

Roy is getting more and more frustrated by the second.

The Master, on the other hand, is gleeful. He bounds through the fields outside of Cameron as if this is a child's game, laughing as he leads Roy through yards and yards of wheat fields. There's almost no doubt that this is the man responsible for the nineteen disappearances – what he said in the barn may as well have been a confession – and what's worse was that he had threatened to make Hawkeye the twentieth.

Roy snarls to himself.

Hawkeye. As far as he knows, Havoc is no doctor, and she is still losing copious amounts blood from the head. He knows head injuries are supposed to bleed buckets, but to see _Hawkeye_ being on the receiving end of one is far from comforting. She'll wake up later (he hopes she'll wake up later) with a nasty concussion, but he hopes that's all it will be. If she wakes up with some kind of brain injury, he might just lose it.

He skids to halt as the grass clears and the Master runs into a silo at the end of the field. Roy hares after him, but when he bursts in, the Master has seemingly disappeared.

"Are you sure you want to know what happened to all those people, Flame Alchemist?" taunts a voice from above.

Roy scowls and glares up at the culprit who is sitting like a child on a beam at least fifteen feet high. "Tell me what you know!" he demands.

The Master grins a silly grin and presses his hands to the beam. "Suit yourself!" he calls.

Lightning flashes from his hands, and the floor beneath Roy begins to glow. Amidst the sound of cracking light, he hears the Master cackle, and a curious sensation makes its way through his body before his mind shuts down and the world goes black.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hawkeye!"

Hawkeye groans a little. She's disoriented and her head is pounding, so it's only fair that she has no idea what's happening at first. Someone is crouched over her, patting her cheeks and shaking her shoulders. "Havoc?" she manages.

Havoc breathes what sounds like a sigh of relief. "How's your head?"

"Sore," mumbles Hawkeye, grunting as she tries to sit up only to find Havoc holding her shoulders down with one hand. Her fingers reach towards the back of her head and she winces when she touches something warm and liquid. "What happened? Is this - "

The blond man scoffs a little. "Yeah, that's blood." He gestures at a scrawny, uncertain looking boy. "Poor kid was terrified he'd killed you."

Hawkeye grimaces a little and it takes a moment before the scene clears and she realises where she is. She's staring up at a thatched ceiling, and little bits of dull sunshine are seeping through cracks in the walls. There's straw underneath her body, which explains why her arms itch oddly, and she puts it all together after a moment and realises she's still in the barn on the outskirts of Cameron. "We were investigating a case," she manages at last.

"You're getting there," says Havoc, helping her up. "At least we know your memory's still good."

She glances around tiredly, wincing at the pain at the back of her head and at the light assaulting her eyes. "Where's the Colonel?"

Here, Havoc pauses. "He – uh – went after our suspect and – "

"Why didn't you go with him?" she demands sharply.

"He ordered me to make sure you came to," says Havoc in a poor attempt to defend himself. "He can take care of himself for a little while – you, on the other hand, can't as you're probably suffering from a pretty serious concussion – "

"I'm really sorry," mumbles the kid, "I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt..."

"Besides, he's the Flame Alchemist – what could possibly go wrong?"

"You're not going to sue me, are you?"

The babble is making the pain in Hawkeye's head worse, and she winces and hushes them both. "Just give me a straight answer, Havoc. Where's the Colonel?"

They are rescued from answering by the sound of something collapsing in the distance.

Havoc shifts uncomfortably and realises that, under Hawkeye's terrifying glare, 'rescue' isn't quite the right word.

x

Even as stubborn as she is, Hawkeye understands that, with a head injury like the one she has just received, this is probably the last thing she should be doing. Of course that doesn't mean she'll actually listen to herself. Against her better judgement, she orders Havoc to help her hobble along, out of the derelict barn and across the expansive field of wheat outside of the little town in an effort to find their Colonel.

They move as fast as they can, but with Hawkeye half hanging onto Havoc, progress is slow. The can only hope Mustang is still in one piece, which does nothing at all to help because judging from the amount of blood on the barn floor that had come from her head, Hawkeye really doesn't need this kind of stress right now.

Torn with the guilt of nearly killing a military officer and the possibility of having a hand in the disappearances around town, the kid, Roland, follows them along. "We practise in that silo," he tells them, pointing to the collapsed structure in the distance. "Or. We used to. The barn is like Master's personal laboratory."

"Do you know what he's doing?" asks Havoc, adjusting his grip around Hawkeye's shoulders.

Roland shakes his head. "He just tells me to write notes."

Hawkeye gives him the sternest glare she can manage. "You must have some idea, then."

But again, Roland shakes his head. "It's all in code. He just dictates to me. He doesn't let me see what he's doing."

Havoc frowns as they approach the silo. "Do you have access to his notes?"

The kid nods. "I can get them for you, if that will help." He pauses and stares guiltily down at his shoes. "I never wanted anyone to get hurt," he mumbles. "I just... wanted to see my dad again..."

Hawkeye feels a pang of sympathy for the boy, which is saying something as he nearly killed her with an iron pipe. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the kid is trying to strike it out on his own – she's been there and done that. He's like the Elrics, in a way – naive and innocent, and all he really wants is to see his father again. He's an honest kid.

Her thoughts are torn away from him when something moves amongst the ruins of the silo. Carefully, Havoc takes his arm from her shoulders and moves forward, gun cocked. "Who's there?"

To their great relief, the voice that answers belongs to Roy. "Havoc? I thought I told you to stay with Hawkeye and call for backup!"

Havoc sighs. "It's not like there was anything in that barn to call for backup _with_," he says, sifting through the ruins. "You okay, Chief?"

"Fine," grunts Roy. "Get me out of here."

Havoc heaves a beam out of the way, and at last, he catches sight of Roy.

He stares.

"What?"

Roland and Hawkeye are staring too.

"I can't believe it," murmurs the kid. "Master did it."

x

They get back to the hotel twenty minutes later. Hawkeye's starting to pale from blood loss, and by the time they check in again, it's decided their cover is blown and there's no use pretending any more.

Cameron's best doctor is sent to fix up the gash on the back of Hawkeye's head, and with her incapacitated and Roy's condition a little bit... off... Havoc is left in charge of their little team. If Roland really does have access to his master's notes, then they'll need him later on. The kid is also a potential target, so for now, Havoc makes the call that he's best left with the team.

"Lieutenant Havoc!" calls Fuery as he makes his way upstairs. "I was just talking to General Grumman – they're sending a team from Investigations to help us fix this case up as fast as possible. They'll rendezvous with us tomorrow."

"Great," says Havoc. "We're... going to need their help."

Fuery cocks his head curiously. "Did something happen?"

Behind Havoc, the kid winces and wraps his hands more protectively around the jar in his arms – Havoc had instructed him to carry it while he helped Hawkeye hobble her way back to the hotel.

The second lieutenant clears his throat awkwardly. "Where are Breda and Falman?"

"Still gathering intelligence," answers Fuery. "Where's Colonel Mustang and Lieutenant Hawkeye? And who's this?" he adds, catching sight of Roland.

"Well." Havoc coughs oddly. "Hawkeye's recovering from a really terrible concussion – " Roland shrinks backwards guiltily, but it doesn't stop Havoc from stepping aside and introducing him – "this is Roland, by the way. We know who our culprit is and Roland here is going to help us out. And uh... I think we'd best wait for Breda and Falman to come back before we talk about the rest of this..."

As if on cue, Breda and Falman knock against their hotel room door. "Oh, you're back," greets Breda. "Where's the Chief? He's gonna want to hear about these rumours."

Falman nods. "According to a lot of the townsfolk, there's an alchemist here who's trying to master the transmutation of the human physiology. We spoke to an amateur alchemist who says it wouldn't be human transmutation per se, as you're not transmuting the soul into anything else – you're only transforming the body from one system to another. Apparently, our suspect been trying to turn people into - "

"Frogs, right?"

There's a pause and three confused pairs of eyes turn to Roland because the voice that spoke was clearly Roy's only he's nowhere to be seen – and then they look at the jar in his arms – or rather, the little green creature staring at them through the glass.

"Oh," says Breda weakly. "Shit."

Roy Mustang has been reduced to a tiny green tree frog in the bottom of a glass jar.

Havoc scratches his head uncertainly, wondering how on earth they're going to explain this to Investigations.


	4. Chapter 4

Roy spends his first night as a little tree frog in the bottom of the jar on Hawkeye's nightstand.

She's been out cold since the doctor stitched up the back of her head, and she's going to have killer headache in the morning but he'll be honest – he'd really rather be the one with the serious concussion. She's not a frog, so clearly, she has the better end of this whole being incapacitated deal. (It's a strange thing, to be envying a someone with a concussion, but, you know, being a frog is stranger still).

She's likely going to be furious at him for being so careless and running off the way he did, though, but he kind of hopes she'll take pity on him. He's already a frog – he really doesn't need to be yelled at too.

So he spends the night on her nightstand, partly because this is supposed to be his room too but mostly because he's worried about her. She took an iron pipe to the head, after all – it's only reasonable.

His concern for her is short lived, though, and while he's still very concerned, Investigations arrive in the morning, and to his great dismay, Hughes is with them – and in his current condition, Hughes' presence can only mean one thing.

"_Bahahahaha_!"

Roy scowls. "Shut up," he snaps, but of course, Hughes doesn't, and any second now, Roy expects him to keel over from hypoxia.

"How the _hell_ did you end up like this?" he chokes at last.

"You already know how." Roy glares at him as much as his bulging froggy eyes will allow.

This only causes Hughes to laugh even harder. "Tell it again," he gasps. "Seriously, this is actually brilliant – it's like that one fairy tale my darling Elysia loves – "

"_Hughes."_

"Okay... okay..." He stops laughing at last, but he looks like he might start up again at any moment. "So the answer to all of this is pretty clear, if you ask me." He grins and pauses for effect. "Clearly, you have to get Hawkeye to kiss – "

"_Hughes!_" snarls Roy. "This isn't a joke!"

"All right! Geez! No need to get so hissy!" Hughes holds up his hands and grins apologetically. It's a wonder they haven't woken Hawkeye with all the noise. "I'm sorry, I had to make the joke. Look, our guys are in town looking for the guy that kid described. His name's Roland, right? The kid, I mean. Havoc and Breda went with him to find his master's notes but with alchemy like this – " Hughes makes a face. "We might have to find an alchemist better at biological alchemy."

"Like who, pray tell?" Roy deadpans, but Hughes gives him a look and suddenly he knows the answer. "No. No. We're not calling in Fullmetal. Absolutely not."

Hughes rolls his eyes. "He might be your only chance – I don't know anything about alchemy, but _this_ has got to be _ridiculously_ complex. Ed's better than you at biological alchemy and he and Al might be able to figure a way out of this for you."

"_No._"

Hughes sighs. "Well it's too late now – according to Grumman, the boys are in East City, so I had Fuery send for him. They'll be here in couple of days, so you'll have to sit tight until then."

"That's a joke." Roy looks insulted.

But despite his joking earlier, Hughes looks pretty serious.

Roy groans, envying Hawkeye just a little more.

x

Hughes takes care of the paperwork for Hawkeye because he's nice like that and he's fairly sure that it's not healthy to make her do all of it by herself.

It's a strange case, all right. Nineteen disappearances and one unfortunate little frog (he swallows a snigger) according to what he's heard so far, but as serious as it is that his best friend is a tree frog in a jar on Hawkeye's nightstand, it's still hilarious. That's just the way Roy works, isn't it? Hawkeye takes her eyes off him for a second and he gets himself into another boatload of trouble. (This is why Hughes thinks they should just get married and have it done with).

The boys are still looking for their culprit but it's been two hours and there's still no news, so to pass the time, he takes the kid – Roland – aside and asks him a few questions.

"How long have you been studying under the Master?" he asks, resorting to the kid's name for their suspect.

Roland shifts a little uncomfortably. "Six months," he mumbles. "I didn't know he was hurting people, I swear – "

"It's okay," Hughes says, holding up his hands. "It's okay – how old are you, Roland?"

"Fourteen," mumbles the kid.

Hughes nods. "Fourteen, right. And the Master promised to help you bring your dad back, yeah?"

"Yeah," Roland answers quietly, staring at his hands. "The blonde guy says it doesn't work that way."

The bespectacled man sighs. "I'm sorry, Roland, but that kind of alchemy is illegal for a reason. It's dangerous. I know people who have tried it, and believe me, it's not worth it."

"You're not an alchemist though, are you? And neither is the blonde guy?"

"Listen," says Hughes patiently. "The Master has been hurting people, you know that – and that kind of alchemy – the way the Master does it, it's not just going to hurt a lot of people, but it's going to hurt you too. We're doing everything we can to stop him from hurting anyone else, but there are more people like him that just don't accept the things alchemy can't do. Don't be one of them. Okay?"

Roland shifts again and says nothing.

x

It occurs to Hughes later, after he and Roland are done talking, that Roy probably hasn't had anything to eat in a while, so he wanders into town in an effort to do his best friend a favour and picks up something suitable.

When he comes back, he finds that Hawkeye is still out cold and Roy has been let out of his jar. He's sitting on a book on Hawkeye's nightstand and it's not everyday you see a frog reading a book, so Hughes can't help but stare for a moment after he shuts the door behind him.

When he finally regains control of his mouth, he spots what it is Roy's reading and promptly snaps it shut again before he can burst out laughing.

"That's a children's book," he says at last, voice oddly strained from unreleased laughter. "_The Frog Prince_, to be exact."

Roy scowls at him. "Fuery dropped this off, and I have a feeling he wasn't the one who picked this because this is just a little below the belt." He scoffs. "Frogs being kissed and turning into princes. Yeah, right."

"It's not like anyone's forcing you to read it," comments Hughes.

"It's not like I have anything to do," Roy grumbles in reply. "Everyone else is out there looking for the guy responsible for this and I'm in here being treated like an invalid."

Despite wanting to burst out laughing again, Hughes gives his friend sympathetic sigh. "There's not much you can as frog, bud. But hey, I brought you some food." He gestures to the paper bag he brought with him.

"Good," says Roy, "I'm starving. At least someone had the common sense to think about my health today."

Hughes makes an odd face between a grimace and a smirk, but Roy peers into the paper bag before he can stop him.

"You're kidding."

"Not today, sorry, buddy."

Roy jabs a webbed finger at the bag. "There is a glass case in there full of flies and you expect me to eat them?"

Hughes scratches the back of his head awkwardly. "Sorry, Roy – I spoke to a lady at the pet store, and she told me if I gave you people food, it would go undigested and potentially kill you. You'll have to make do with this stuff for now."

"You're _kidding_."

But the bespectacled man shakes his head and shrugs.

Roy groans. It's going to be a long week.


End file.
